LoSH and The Lost History of the Soul Spectrum
by KitsuneWannaBe
Summary: Picks up where the Warner Bro continuity left off- The mythic "third season" that never aired and soon you'll know why. The lines between good and evil will blur/cross in ways DC wouldn't dream of in this FanFic installment of Legion of Superheroes!
1. Prologue

**Prologue: The Baffled Brains Meet's A Beautiful Brawn**

Since there was no obvious danger on this mission Braniac 5 would not be calling on his fellow legionnaires for back up. Actually, the lone Coluan wouldn't be calling on anyone for anything, at least for a while. He had left the Legion of Superheroes to cope with his new found humanity. Flesh and emotions were such a culture shock that the "former robot" (something no one had ever expected to say for all the vast grandeur of the wide universe) felt it would be best to cope with them alone. Foolish in hindsight, but that too was another aspect of being "human". The journey of solitude eventually led him outside the safety of the United Planets into the vast space beyond. It was in this remote and seemingly untouched realm with only chirping life-support systems for company that a faint, almost oblique, distress call reached the lone ship's sensors. Intrigued, Braniac 5 reset his coordinates for the pursuit.

Although Braniac 5's twelfth level intellect could process large amounts of data, there were three very small and very specific things about the faint distress signal that had peaked his interest. The first thing that caught his attention was the simplicity of it. The pattern wasn't like any of the known intergalactic distress codes, but at the same time the pattern was too regular to be merely dismissed as space noise. If that were the case then the remaining question was how did he know it was a distress signal? Simply put his gut (some else he would have to get used to) told him so. The second irregularity was the pattern itself. Based on his vast knowledge of technologies and customs of the assorted species of the galaxy, Brainiac 5 had come to a startling conclusion. The signal pattern, as simple as it was, most closely resembled a very old and at one time a very well-known _terrestrial_ code. To find a reminder of Earth so far out in what was considered by most to be the "badlands" of space was (to say the least) unexpected. Lastly the source of the signal seemed to come from an ice covered planet that, as far as anyone knew, was uninhabited. The planet was so dull and remote it hadn't even received a proper _name_. The most anyone ever made of it was a footnote somewhere which basically said, "there was ice. Lots and lots of ice."

The solo adventurer assumed that a small transport ship or explorer craft had gotten lost or damaged and the ice ball was the closest thing to an emergency landing. With such an archaic distress call he didn't expect to find anyone or anything still alive at the crash site. This would merely serve as a temporary diversion from the other things he's had on his mind. After Brainiac 5 bundled up (another human inconvenience) and stepped out on to the frozen landscape he easily tracked down the distress signal to its source. The scrap pile of a beacon seemed to support his "lost explorers" theory. There was just one problem, however. With the bone chilling wind moaning in his ears Braniac 5 tuned his scanners to look for life signs just to be thorough and met with a big shock.

"What the-?" He gasped as the needle on the screening device danced up and down erratically. Even if they were there he couldn't detect any life forms because a huge energy surge was creating interference. Something, a very big something, was a mere miles beneath the ice like a looming shadow.

"Whatever it is, it can't be…good." Braniac 5 stopped himself from speaking further. Thinking out loud had become a rather unfortunate habit especially since there wasn't anyone to listen. A shuffling sound at his back alerted Braniac 5 to a stranger's approach, but the creature proved to be too slow to deliver the message. The ice beneath them both cracked in shock at the weight of life. Caught off guard Brainiac 5 and the creature fell though the ice into the hidden caves below.

It wasn't the fall that had knocked him unconscious. It was the alien creature's landing that had knocked the wind out of him. Taking a few moments to curse the integrity of his own inventions (that would be tweaked _again _at a more convenient time) Brainiac 5 slowly sat up and concluded that he was undamaged for the time being. The natural ice cavern was dark and uninteresting. Without the light of the surface as a marker Brainiac 5 theorized that navigating the tunnels was not for amateurs. Getting lost would be the only option. The alien that had fallen with him, however, was now nowhere to be seen and apparently had disappeared into one of the passages.

"So much for uninhabited," He muttered and prepared to fly back up out of the hole, but something was off. His flight ring, _his flight ring _appeared to be malfunctioning. As is mind quickly ran through all the possibilities of why that was impossible and what might be causing the interference his concentration was broken by a hushed whisper bouncing off the cavern walls.

"…pusssss…pusssss…pussssss…"

"W-who's there?" Braniac 5 backed up against the cold wall and began fiddling with his flight ring again. "I'm not here to hurt you… but if you have the intent of harming me I'm telling you now you'll regret it." The cavern was too dark for him to see more than a few feet with the aid of his portable emergency lights. Slowly small (most thankfully mere feet tall small) figures crept forward as is shy of the light. Their garments were simple robes that hid their bodies completely away from the cold.

The voices tried again, "…us…us… help… us… help… us… help us."

"Huh?"

At last the leader of the small band walked forward. The tiny figure's feet made a slapping sound as the creature walked forward. Once the figure was close enough to properly look Braniac 5 in the navel the robed leader lowered her hood to reveal a green, slimy, frog head. The creature looked up at Braniac 5 with her yellow eyes and with a low croak she forced out the words.

"Please," She said. "Please, help us."

Naturally the strings of a true hero's heart are far from being made out of lead. Brainiac 5 stood up quickly startling the amphibian natives. He asked them boldly as any hero would, "What do you need?"

"Help us," The frog chief said again. "Help us help her."

"Help who?" Braniac 5 asked now just a little confused. Whatever was messing with his ring's flight capabilities was also messing with the translation program apparently. He gave the device a few quick taps hoping to clarify once and for all the burning question on his mind and that was, "Just what is going on here?"

"Help us help her who helped us." The frog chief said more firmly.

"Okaaaay." Braniac 5 still wasn't sure if he had heard correctly. At last with a final "kick" as it were to the problem, the language barrier was broken. The frog people made like the Red Sea so their leader and now "guest" could walk past.

"Come inside." The frog chief suggested. "I will tell you our story on the way."

"As you might have guessed from our physical appearance and the appearance of this place," The frog chief said as they walked along. "This planet was not our original home." Braniac simply nodded. He had indeed come to that realization once he saw the "Ramiki" people. Although they looked like they could control their internal body temperature to a certain extent, Braniac 5 suspected that the Ramiki would be much more at home in a dense rainforest on some humid bug infested planet.

Brainiac 5 analyzed the various story bits carefully. "This planet isn't an ideal environment at all." He said at last drawing upon his mental map of the stars. The Ramiki were intelligent, but primitive. There was no way for them to have interplanetary travel technology. The Bad Lands were lawless and brutal. This race wouldn't have stood a chance in conflict. The only reason they were safe now was probably because nobody knew they were there. Looking around one question kept popping into his mind. If the Ramiki didn't bring themselves to the ice ball, then what did? What sort of idiot would dump an amphibian race into what was basically a freezer? Unless, of course, the circumstances were very dire at the time. "Surely you could have picked a better place than this." He mumbled also not fond of the chill that was sneaking through what was supposed to be an impermeable transuit.

"One would think so, but this one suits all our basic needs." The frog chief said not ungratefully. "The surface it doesn't look like much, but the air is breathable and there is plenty of eatable aquatic life below." The fog looked down at the ice below their feet. "Our talented young people are developing ways of harnessing the great underwater volcano for heat and energy. Give us a few generations and this planet will be paradise." The frog chief explained, "We were brought here by our great hero, the stranger from afar."

"If that's the case," Brainiac 5 asked. "Why did you send out a distress signal?"

"Because _she's _the one who needs help now." The frog chief replied solemnly.

When the frog chief said the word "she" they turned the corner into a brightly lit cavern with an underground lake at the very center. At the center of the lake stood a pillar of ice stretching from the ceiling into the dark waters below. In the clear pillar's core two figures were trapped, frozen in mid battle. A giant man with dark orange skin that greatly reminded Braniac 5 of the Legion's old foe Imperiex was locked in contest with a masked_ human _girl. The source of the nearly blinding light was the girl's wrists.

"Amazing," Brainiac 5 said in awe. After adjusting his gauges to counter the immense powers the girl was emitting he came to a firm conclusion. "They're still alive."

"Both come from worlds far away that we couldn't even imagine." The chief frog explained shielding her eyes from the magnificent glare of the ice locked battle. The woman had chased the vile villain from realms unknown. The Ramiki and their home planet had gotten caught in the crossfire. The woman saved them by bringing the Ramiki to the frozen planet when their home destroyed. In a last ditch effort to stop the great and terrible advisory the young woman sacrificed herself to trap both her and her opponent. It was unknown how long the seal would last, but the girl was determined to hold it for as long as she could.

"Please," The frog chief pleaded. "Help her and take her home." The frog's expression turned to sorrow and regret. "I could sense that she was still just a child, but she has done so much for us. Our current technology is too primitive, but perhaps you can help her."

"I'll do my best." Braniac 5 said, but even he had his doubts.

**-–several scans later—-**

"It's no use." Brainiac 5 said with a heavy sigh. "I can't free one without freeing the other." He turned back at the frog chief. Flexing powers of immense patience the frog woman had spent the entire time meditating.

Unflinching the frog woman replied, "Keep trying."

Brainiac 5 looked over the imposing figure of _Xezh Chof_ again unable to shake the uneasiness that was haunting his nerves. "How strong did you say this guy was?"

"That is irrelevant," The frog woman said still keeping her meditative from.

"Seems pretty relevant to me," Brainiac 5 muttered while looking over his readings again.

"Sooner or later the hero's powers will fail." The frog chief replied nonchalantly. "At that time the opponent will still be strong. The better option would be to buy time so that the hero can recover and gather strength." Brainiac 5 frowned. He hated being out logic'd, especially by an amphibian.

**-Five failed rescue plans later-**

"We clearly have the wrong approach." Brainiac 5 sighed exhausted.

"Might I suggest an alternative solution?" A tiny frog child popped out from nowhere.

"This isn't as simple as building a backup generator, Mali." The frog chief corrected the child.

"Just hear me out," He replied with a bob of his head. It was then and there that the Ramiki's youngest and most talented engineer came up with the final solution. The barrier of ice was being held by the hero. In order to release her (and unfortunately her foe with her) they would have to inhibit her power. "Hold it back, like a dam, and then hope it'll release with that extra oomph."

"There are far too many variables in that scenario for my tastes." Brainiac protested. "What powers does she have and just how do plan to limit them?"

"She didn't speak our language nor did she have a device to translate like you," Mali explained. Unlike the older Ramiki there were several flaws in his voice that were possibly a sign that he was the Ramiki equivalent of a preteen. Thus his perspective on the "stranger from afar" was different. He held a greater intuitive curiosity for the odd creature. "When we sang the Rami prayer her golden aura wavered. She found it to be…calming."

"Very well," The frog chief said ignoring Brainiac 5's protests.

Since his side trip on the road to discovering his humanity had taken a turn towards dangerous Brainiac 5 wanted to be a prepared as possible. Even the best of odds didn't favor them. Their only hope was the unknown element, the girl.

The Ramiki sang their prayer. Its melody bounced off the ice and filled the cavern like a great symphony. It was very soothing. Even Brainiac 5 had to admit that. The light of the girl also shrank and, as if he was waiting for that chance, the girl's advisory opened his eyes. The cavern trembled as the man's muscled tensed. Several heart pounding moments later he effortlessly broke free of the pillar. The girl, however, remained motionless on the island of ice. Xezh Chof was free. The frog people screamed. Brainiac 5 fired his weapons hoping to stun the giant, but it was futile.

"NO!" The terrified screams of the frogs was enough to wake the girl. Clearly the woman was gearing up for ultra burst of power making everyone duck for cover.

"I think not." Rather than face the girl's wrath Xezh Chof powered up a thousand year old device. Brainiac 5 blinked in surpise as a boom tube formed. "You've done well, little girl." The villain taunted. "But I'll make sure the whole universe knows and fears the name 'Pandemonium'!"

"Not this time!" The girls stored blast was reaching critical. The resulting backlash would be dangerous for even her. Before Brainiac 5 could interviene the girl shouted at the top of her lungs, "Even if it kills me I'll send you to-"

The golden blast of energy and the boom tube collided into a blast that even Hollywood would envy. It wasn't until several minutes afterwards that the girl regained consciousness. She heard the Ramiki chanting a prayer for her. It was kind and heartfelt. The girl knew that the Ramiki were a good people even if she couldn't speak their language. What surprised the girl the most when she opened her eyes was the blond boy with green skin.

"Huh?" She tried to sit up, but it took several tries.

"Are you okay?" Brainiac 5 asked. The blast had roasted all his equipment. For a full medical examination they would have to return to his ship. That is, if even_ that _wasn't totaled inadvertently in the blast as well.

"Yeah, I think so." She finally managed to sit up properly. "At least I'm not dead."

"Indeed." Brainiac 5 nodded. That was the one diagnosis they could all agree on. "Not yet."

"Figured as much." The girl muttered and rubbed her throbbing skull. "I didn't think hell would have any pretty boys and just who the hell are you?"

Brainiac 5 was stunned by several observations. He did his best to remain calm and try to think logically about this…unusual meeting. "I'm Braniac 5, and if I'm not mistaken you…" He faltered. "I mean you're…" Even someone of his intelligence would be flabbergasted by something so unlikely. "But you…" He tried again to speak up and failed. It was simply _impossible_. The girl by now was surrounded by several grateful and relieved Ramiki. She gave "hugs" (which in the Ramiki culture was a gesture of matching the first two fingers and thumb to the other person's) all around. It was at that stuttering moment that the girl realized that while she couldn't speak with the Ramiki, she could understand the green man perfectly.

"I'm what?" She crossed her arms and waited for a point.

Finally Brainiac 5 managed to spit out, "You're speaking an _Earth _dialect!" Having just heard another variation of it recently (aka Superman) Brainiac was royally stunned.

"Makes sense considering that's where I'm from." The girl didn't seem too alarmed considering she was on an alien planet light-years and _centuries _away from where she was supposed to be.

"The dialect you're using is from centuries ago." Brainiac 5 told her. "You've traveled forward in time."

This made the girl pause in disbelief. "You're kidding," She accused.

"So either you're lying about where you're from," It was Brainiac 5's turn to be accusatory. "Or you unwittingly transported yourself to the 31st century."

At hearing that last bit the girl looked absolutely crest fallen. "…Are those my only two options?" She asked weakly.

"Do you have anything to prove your story?"

The girl thought for a moment, "I think I have half a pack of mint gum and thirty-eight cents left in my pocket."

"Welcome to the 31st century."


	2. Episode 1

**Episode One: A Better Tomorrow, **_**Tomorrow **_

"Would you chill out Superman?" Lightning Lad scolded his blue and red clad associate. "Brainy can take care of himself."

"Yeah, but it's been six months now." The young man of steel argued. It was true they had been busy with missions and protecting the Earth and all, but their robotic-turned-organic friend had always been on the back of the Legion's mind. Braniac 5 was still a key member of the team even if he himself said otherwise.

"He just needed time to sort out his feelings." Saturn Girl said as she walked in. She didn't even have to ask what the conversation was about. It didn't take a telepath to tell what was weighing on Superman's "invulnerable" shoulders. Big muscles meant a big heart too.

"And there's no telling how long that's going to take." Lightning Lad agreed although he himself was worried a little too. An awkward silence filled the room as no one was sure how to tactfully change the subject. Luckily they didn't have to. Bouncy Boy rushed in flushed with excitement.

He took a moment to catch his breath not because of the mad dash, but because he himself could hardly contain his joy. Saturn Girl looked surprised and elated by the news that was pouring out of Bouncy Boy's mind.

"It's Brainy!" Bouncy Boy managed to gasp. "He's back!" And no one in a thousand years had ever seen a room vacated so fast.

* * *

"There is it," Brainiac 5 told his pacing passenger. The young lady hadn't been able to calm down the entire flight despite Brainiac 5's assurances. She went back and forth between rubbing her yellow sleeves and combing her short brown hair. The static from her white gloves only made her hair worse and her yellow aura held steady 60 watts meaning she was probably _very_uncertain about this trip.

"I still don't know about this," the girl said as she ducked behind the pilot's chair.

"Relax. It'll be fine." Brainiac 5 replied for the 999th time.

"B-but, Superman is…" The girl trailed off not wanting to reiterate the source of her obvious dissonance. She checked to make sure her mask was still in place. Not that it would do much good if the man of steel really wanted to check her ID.

"Don't worry about it." Brainiac 5 dismissed casually. "He really is a nice guy. I'm telling you."

"B-but…That's exactly what I'm worried about!" the girl protested. "I didn't mean 'boy scout' as a complement! Or-"

"Think of it as a fresh start." Brainiac 5 sighed. The 12th level intellect was at a loss on how to appropriately soothe the panicked girl. "This is the first time you're meeting right? Well, first for him. Just try to start off on the right foot."

* * *

At their first meeting the young lady does indeed "accidentally" punch Superman making for an emotionally mixed first impression. Right after Brainiac 5 had exited the ship into a sea of welcoming hugs and greetings he asked that only the senior members remain. Once that was done called is passenger down from the ship. Carefully and shyly she did, but the shock of being among so many heroes was too much. Superman got just a little too close despite his green friend's warning.

"Uh, that's not quite what I meant." Brainiac 5 said as he scratched his head. The other legionaries were equally stunned.

"Whooo, that's a nice right cross," Lightning Lad commented as he put a hand over his eyes to block the sun light. Superman was taken completely off guard by the swing and was sent a flying a fair distance towards the horizon.

"I'm soooooorrry," The young lady sobbed as she dropped to her knees repentantly. "I didn't mean to… uh…old habit?" By now her forehead was almost touching the floor making for a rather comical looking scene for the 31st century crew.

"Brainy?" Lightning Lad said after a moment. "Would you mind telling us what's going on?"

-time skip: one long explanation later—

"What?"

"So you're also from the 21st, like Superman." Lightning Lad said to clarify what they had just been told.

The girl nodded.

"But from 60 years after our Superman's time."

The girl nodded again.

"So you're worried that interacting with him here will change the past and his future." Saturn Girl quipped in.

The girl nodded more urgently and added, "Yes there's that but…" She paused and looked around at the heroes nervously.

"Um, what Trish is trying to say is in the past…" Brainiac 5 took the chance to break in at that point.

"_Trish_?" Lightning Lad repeated quietly with an expression of curiosity.

The girl took a deep breath so that the glowing aura around her could calm down and her powers would stay in check. She combed back her short brown hair back with her hand finally confessed. "My name is Trisha Michaels," She said keeping the nervousness out of her proud tone. "My alias is the Yellow Torch. I'm a former member of the Doom Legion and… and-" She glanced down at the floor and added quietly, "Basically I'm a super villain."

A dramatic pause ensued as this key bit of information sank in.

"Excuse us a moment." Lightning Lad told their guest before pulling their genius friend aside. "Brainy!" he whispered, "What were you thinking?

Saturn girl answered for him saying, "Deep down she's a good person and because she's a long way from her home _and_her time. There's no way we can just ignore it and not help her." Lightning Lad could tell from the expression on his love interest's face that she probably agreed. Saturn Girl shrugged, "I'm not picking up any bad vibes from her."

"Pretty much." Brainiac 5 nodded indicating Saturn Girl had read correctly.

"Super _villain_." Lightning Lad pointed out again more firmly.

"With only average hearing," Trish/Yellow Torch called out indicating that they had been less than quite. "If you don't believe me just have psychic chick scan my brain waves." This was the very reason she didn't want to come to a nest of super heroes. She shot Brainiac 5 a look of resentment.

"It's Saturn Girl." The lady in question corrected.

"Whatever." Trish rolled her eyes, "Just figured you'd be more inclined to invade my privacy if I annoyed you."

Saturn Girl took the bait. "Alright, what do you want us to see?"

"Hmmmm… How about…" Trish was clearly starting to have second thoughts. Since the interrogation had begun she hadn't moved from her sitting position on the ground. "How about we all go to the holodeck thingy with some popcorn." She said trying to lighten up the room a little.

"Sure, whatever." Lightning Lad replied with a mocking note in his voice. "What's a holodeck?"

Trish looked at the legionnaire's face to see if he were joking himself, but after realizing that her joke had indeed gone over their heads the girl hid her face in her palms and muttered in a mock alien voice, "Take me to your leader."

* * *

"As specified." Brainiac 5 said as the doors opened before them to reveal a large empty chamber. "This holographic training room will show us your memories."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Saturn Girl asked their unusual guest again.

"It's just you three, right?" Trish squared her shoulders and marched into the room before everyone else. Despite the posing it was obvious by her glowing aura that the girl was still very uncomfortable, but in order to clear any doubt about her intentions she had to show them the truth as she saw it. "Just don't expect any repeat performances." She closed her eyes.

With that Brainiac 5 started up the machine and the trial began. The girl's mind was strong and her memories were clear, almost to the point of abnormal. This was a sign that a sharp proud mind was before them.  
_  
__'I think we can skip the chicken farm_,' Trish mused.

_'Chicken farm?'__'…Oh, shut up'._

_'Begin with the bracelet_.' Brainiac 5 suggested. '_The one that gives you powers.'_

_'They called it the "artifact".'_ Trish explained and the room morphed to show what she was remembering. '_By all best guesses the tiny contraption was over a million years old and alien. Duh.'_

The scene changed to show a stereotypical 21st century laboratory with a woman older than Trish standing in a white lab coat.

_'Unable to crack the code it sat on a lab shelf for years until an intern got a hold of it. A passing curiosity, but she was able to figure out the inscription which roughly equates to "fear itself" in our language. Once uttered the object split into two bracelets and buried itself into her skin.'_ With her eyes still closed Trish took off her white elbow length gloves to show them the fat golden bands on her wrists. They had fused so tightly to her skin that it was impossible to tell where flesh ended and technology began. The tiny veins in her fingers all the way up to her elbows where giving off a yellow light. The sight terrified the girl so much that she rarely ever removed her gloves.  
_  
__'A scream and large outburst of energy was the last anyone was of the lab or her.'_The holographic image behind them illustrated Trish's story.

The scenery changed to show a suburban house with the same woman only with black bandages covering her arms. Unlike with Trish the woman's aura did now glow showing that the device's previous owner had much more control over her own fears. The woman seemed to wait as a younger version of Trish bounced into the yard._'Five years later we met. I knew her as Tracy Todd, a so-so novelist and the "first" Yellow Torch. Unlike me she preferred to keep a low profile and had perfect control over the device. I barely ever saw her use it nor did it have a constant barrier around her as it does with me.'_The sky darkened as the atmosphere of the memory changed to a much, much darker tone. The part Trish didn't wish to recall had come. Unmarked cars pulled up in front of the house as the woman shoved her young friend behind her. The lab coats tracked her down to recover the artifact, but quickly discovered a problem.

_'I learned later that the device feeds on fear. The only way to remove it is to remove all fear and the only way to do that is to…'_

"Tracy! Tracy!" The holograph of young Trish screamed as she was pulled away by the strangers. They were dressed in black and had no faces in the memory of a child.

"We don't need the girl, just get the-" One agent said and the room went black.

Far off in the distance they heard a child scream, "Nooooo-!" and then there was silence. The real Trish was kneeling on the floor of the dark room with Saturn Girl trying to comfort her. The other two remained silent.

_'You don't have to continue.'_ Saturn Girl told her, but Trish shook her head. She swallowed only to find her mouth had gone dry from her own screams.  
_  
__'Once its energy source was removed,'_ Trish said. The room was still dark, but none of them pressed her to clear up the image. The artifact instantly began the search for its next host and I was the most terrified one there.  
_  
__'Is it like the lantern spectrum?'_Brainiac 5 asked the question that had been bugging him for a while. Trish perked up again.

_'That's what we thought at first,'_ she replied and sat up straighter. '_But then after closer examination GL didn't think so. Unfortunately, by then the name "torch" had stuck. It was inaccurate, but not a completely bad.'_She scratched her head sheepishly.

_'Examination?'_Lightning asked sensing that there was a subtext to the choice of words. Trish grinned and the room came alive with pictures again. This time it was of the Justice League, but not the classic set everyone knew. Superman had somewhat retired, a new and much younger Batman had appeared after a long absence, and most notable was Rex Steward as War Hawk. A strange bit of information leaked out of Trish's mind. She called them not only the "Justice League" in her mind, but the defenders of "Earth WBRO.C5513170" or "Earth WB.C" for short.

_'I'll explain that later.'_Trish promised and ducked out of the way as a holographic War Hawk rushed by shouting-

"GL! Look out!"

A holographic Yellow Torch was aiming a nasty looking blast of power at the skinny monkey looking figure of the current Green Lantern. "Haaaaaaaaaaaa-!" Taking a cue from her the rest of the Doom Legion crew mounted their own assault.  
_  
__'You fought the Justice League?'_

_'Fought?' _Trish asked innocently._ 'Nooooo… we totally pwned their_-'

_'Moving on.'_Brainiac 5 interrupted breaking up Trish's moment of reminiscing.

_'Right I joined up with the Doom Legion and had a few bouts with the Justice League.' _Trish narrated. '_Superman wasn't an active member at the time. My closest cohorts were Sara Long, Black Lightning, and Toxicity. Our job was easy, distraction. We kept the big boys busy while the boss pulled a job. Being minors, there wasn't a whole lot they could do with us once we got caught.'__  
_  
"They're just children!" Holographic Batman had finally trapped the holographic Yellow Torch. The girl was squirming like her life depended on it.

"Let me go!" She shouted. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Bring her along." A deep voice said in Batman's radio receiver. "I'm curious about that little alien trinket she has."

"Easy for you to say," Batman muttered to the voice in his ear before hauling up the Yellow Torch. "Easy kid, don't be scared. We're not going hurt you."

"I'm not scared of you tight-toting losers!" Yellow Torch shouted.

"You should be." War Hawk growled.  
_  
__'But our relationship got better.'_Trish promised.

The scene changed to show holographic Yellow Torch standing on a roof top looking around frantically.

"We've gotta stop doing this." A dark voice behind her made the girl jump.

Yellow Torch spun around to face Batman. "What?" She crossed her arms defensively. "Get a hotline and maybe I will."

"You broke into a bank." He said flatly.

"Yeah, but I didn't steal anything, this time." The girl argued in full rebellion.

"You spray painted the walls."

After a short staring contest Yellow Torch sighed, "…I'll clean it up."

"I don't have time to play school counselor." Batman told her before another staring contest ensued.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…fine." Batman relented. "Ten o'clock tomorrow work for you?"

"Yay!" Yellow Torch leaped up and said, "It's a date!" before flying off.

"Push over." Said the deep voice over Batman's radio.

"Shut up."

After that the scene changed dramatically. Trish's memories were more chaotic telling the observers that much was happening at the time. On one side of the room appeared two figures. Trish's mind told the onlookers that they were not of this world. …no, they weren't even from the same dimension. They were two heroes who had come from another universe in pursuit of a villain so destructive and foul that the risk had to be taken. A young man with a mix of Asian and Caucasian features presented himself in a bright red suit. The small brunette woman next to him had a suit of black and gray with a slanted letter "p" on her chest.

"We're from the Justice Legion." Thunder Dash told the Justice League members.

"Somehow a villain from our dimension found his way into yours." Phantom added. "Only two of us were able to follow him." The Justice League members nodded understandingly. They knew of the others' dimension, a parallel universe where the Justice League had become the _Justice Lords_instead. It was a well-kept secret in the mission database.

Phantom explained, "After your Justice League's intervention an uprising for freedom was able to succeed."

"Led by Batman?" Yellow Torch piped up.

Phantom looked at the girl startled, "Why, yes. How did you?"

"Lucky guess." Yellow Torch said with a touch of smug.

"Just so you know," War Hawk's shadow loomed over her from behind. "Once this is all over you're _still_under arrest. And this time you are NOT going to resist."

Yellow Torch looked up at the imposing figure before sheepishly replying, "Yes sir."

Phantom giggled, "Such spirit." She looked at her partner meaningfully.

* * *

Wrapping up the mini history lesson Trish said, _There is one more thing to see._

"It's not enough!" Phantom shouted. "The whole world is going to be destroyed at this rate!"

The wind was blowing rapidly around them and the source was a wormhole. All their attempts to capture the villain had failed. Their allies were down. Only Batman, Phantom, Thunder Dash, War Hawk and Yellow Torch were still at full ability. The rest of their team had fallen. Their only hope was to shove the bastard though the tunnel and hope there was someplace nasty waiting on the other side.

"A little bit faster, Bruce." Batman whispered.

"Give an old man some credit." Along with the old man's voice rapid clicking and machine sounds could be heard over the radio link. "It just needs more power."

"Give it anymore and we'll be sucked in too." Batman complained.

Yellow Torch was standing over an unconscious Green Lantern protecting him from any debris. Thunder Dash and War Hawk were keeping the guy cornered. Seeing them struggle, an unfamiliar tightness squeezed Yellow Torch's chest. "I-" She turned to Batman. "…I think I can do it."

"No way." Green Lantern gasped as he opened his eyes. He sat up shake off the blow to his head and had easily guessed what rash plan was on the young lady's mind. "That's impossible."

"Tch, come on hero." Yellow Torch winked at her temporary mentors. She didn't want to sound ungrateful for all he had taught her, but the overall lesson could not be forgotten. "Who's gonna miss little o'l me?" She reasoned more to herself than the boys club around her. "You know us bad-guy types will do anything to get out of a little jail time."

"He's right." Batman snapped at her. He was too busy calibrating his end of the machine to actively go and stop her from carrying out her plan. "Don't be stupid."

But Yellow Torch was already in flight. "Hey Batsy," She called out to him. "I've seen some pretty scary stuff up 'til now. As far as frienemies go, you've really helped me out a lot." She waved what gave what eerily felt like a final fair well speech. She flexed a little to boost her own confidence. "I can control my powers now, but deep down I'm still just a scaredy-cat." And to herself she said, "I gotta say, nothing's scarier than the feeling I've got now. I almost feel… good."

As she spoke the light around her changed from obnoxious yellow to shining gold. Not wanting to lose her momentum Yellow Torch shouted and charged ahead. With absolutely no intention of looking back the last words they heard from her were, "You just get that portal open! I'll push him through!"

* * *

At last the session was over. Trish fell down on her backside and was content to lay there for a little while. She pressed her hand to her forehead and groaned. "Not the brightest of ideas," She moaned and it was uncertain if she meant the last vision or her idea to put her past on the big screen for all to see. "I had no idea the portal would lead a thousand years into the future." She added with a mutter, "That's kinda inconvenient."

"Just a little," Lightning Lad said with a touch of sarcasm. "Good thing that guy didn't land here."

"But that's still not right!" Trish instantly sat up making all the blood rush from her head. Her face instantly paled and she fell over again. "He destroyed the Ramiki's home planet," She whined. "How do you make up for that?"

"Ramiki?"

"They look like frogs." Brainiac 5 told him.

"Jedi frogs." Trish added.

"What's jedi?" Lightning Lad ask making Trish do a face palm again.

"Y.T. phone home." She groaned. "I don't think I can do this Brainy. I mean my jokes were bad enough before (I made the Flash look like the great Groucho) but now they're over 1,000 years old!"

"Just give it some time to adjust." Brainiac 5 repeated _again_. "And try not to punch Superman again."

Lightning Lad sent a quizzical glance at Saturn Girl. _Is it just me, or do those seem two oddly close?_

_It's just your imagination._Saturn Girl replied.

_How do you know? _Lightning Lad didn't quite buy it and was sending suspicious glances at the pair.

_I did just read her mind you know. _Saturn Girl reminded him. _Apparently blonds aren't her type. _

_Seriously? _Although Lightning Lad was hoping for more evidence than that.

_Think about it._ Saturn Girl advised. _Brainiac 5 goes out to learn about his own humanity and manages to find the most human being possible. He's using this as a learning experience and you should too._

_Learn what? _Lightning Lad demanded.

"Look, I'm not here to join your little glee club." Trish said interrupting the telepathic conversation. "Heck I'm not even sure I can do this." She threw her hands up in frustration. Why did she have to explain herself to a bunch of heroes anyway? Trish walked right up to Lightning Lad and poked him in the chest as a challenge. "All I want is to get this-" She pointed to her golden trinkets. "Get this _thing _the hell off and go home in the 21st century."

"I'm sorry for not consulting you first." Brainiac 5 shrugged as if to say he didn't really have much a choice. Morals and hero codes spoke for themselves.

"But!" Trish wanted to make one final important point. "I'm no street bum. I square my debts. You help me and I help you."

"We don't need your help." Lightning Lad replied not liking Trish's attitude.

"Hey, now." Brainiac 5 put himself between Trish and his friend. "Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. I've seen her in action and Trish could be a big help to us."

"A trial run does seem fair." Saturn Girl agreed.

"Can I still say 'no'?" Lightning Lad asked although he already suspected what the answer would be.

"No sweat, Sparky." Trish gave him a friendly clap on the back. "I don't plan on staying that long."

"I've already agreed to help send Trish back to her own time." Brainiac 5 said further killing the motion to deny.

"Where she's a super villain." Lightning Lad had to point out one more time.

"Statutory of limitations." Trish shot back in a sing-song voice. "I can't do my time here. If you want to see justice done you gotta send be back."

"Can't very well argue with that." Saturn Girl pointed out.

"Fine."

And the matter was closed.

* * *

-The Next Day-

Trish averted her eyes so Brainiac 5 could work in peace. The task at hand was trying to remove the artifact from her wrist. Easier said than done. The golden device had practically merged with the girl's physiology. Blood vessels and nerves in the affected areas had been completely taken over. Another thing was the energy barrier that was constantly surrounding the girl. Even in her most relaxed state the subtle glow kept the entire world at bay. Brainiac 5 theorized that even nutrients in the girl's guts were censored.

"No offense, Brainy," Trish said with a sigh after a mere few minutes of waiting. "But not even Batman could get that off."

"Yes, well no offense to Batman," Brainiac 5 replied. "But he did not have a 12th level intellect or the advance array of tools that I have at my disposal."

"…Right." Trish muttered. It was obvious the shiny barrier was getting the better of him. "You just keep telling yourself that." With a swift yank of her arm Trish freed herself from the examination and restored her gloves.

"Hey!"

"I think it's time we got something productive done." Trish replied. She caught a glance of two figures walking down the hall and instantly chased after them. "Yoohoo! Phantom Girl!" Trish called out to the legionnaire. "What does a hip modern 31st century girl do to have some fun around here?" and to the girl next to her Trish purred, "Saturn Girl, sweety, don't you think it's about time you helped me assimilate into the culture?" She grabbed them both by the arms and said. "Let's go shopping! Long live capitalism!" The only problem was Brainiac 5 was blocking her escape.

Trish looked at Brainiac 5 with the full force of her puppy brown eyes.

"Fine," The man with the 12th level intellect relented. "But take one of these with you." By "these" he meant an authentic Legionnaire ring. Trish grinned and slipped it on before making a graceful escape to the big city.

Trish wasn't sure what to expect when she set foot out into the new modern world. The streets were cleaner. Creatures and aliens of every size and shape moved along in a kaleidoscope of color. Earth held the promise of a new world and new opportunity for everyone. This made sense considering humans had eons of practice dealing with different cultures. Oddly enough her costume wasn't completely out of place either.

"Well, what do you know?" Trish murmured as she examined the items in a shop's window. "I'm style every 1,000 years."

"And that's a phone book." Phantom Girl said as Trish stared starry eyes at an unfamiliar device in the wall. "I thought you wanted to go shopping?"

"Nah, I don't really like shopping." Trish said as she fiddled with the device. "Legion of Doom, evil, socialist," Even as her mouth ran her intense concentration on the gizmo would not be broken. "Didn't you read my file?" At last the console responded to Trish's commands and she perked up immediately. "Phonebook you say?" This was much more interesting than silly things like dresses and shoes. "I wonder if there are any names I'll recognize. Let's see… W's … where's Wayne….? Wayne…?"

Both her chaperones groaned.

"Bzzt…Trish…" The girl's ring glowed and a broken image of Brainiac 5 appeared.

"Ah," Trish held up her hand. "Is there any way to clean up the communication Brainy? I can barely hear you."

"Bzzt…interference… bzzt…." Brainiac 5 replied. "I'll….bzzt… fix it…."

"Alright," Saturn Girl nodded. "We should head back."

Trish frowned. "Um… can it wait?"

"Why?"

Trish pointed to a "page" in the "phone book" she had been skimming.

"This guy is a history professor." Trish said. "I… want to catch up a little more."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Saturn Girl looked at their guest curiously.

"Hey," Trish leaned away from the telepath's gaze. "Privacy lady. I don't know anybody in this era… I don't know _anything_in this era. If I'm going to be helpful at all don't you think I need know what's happened in the last century or so? I'm not going to pry back too far."

"I guess that's okay." Saturn Girl still didn't seem convinced. Her hero's senses were kicking in.  
Trish waved her arms frantically, "I mean you can tag along if you want, but who wants to sit in on a history lesson? I can find my way back to base on my own." She grinned, "I promise I won't be out too late, mom."

"Are you absolutlely sure?" Saturn Girl asked again, but after a few more minutes Trish was able to convince them both. It helped that one was a telepath and Trish really was trying to tell the truth… for the most part.

* * *

Trish found the professor's apartment easy enough and did the traditional knock on the door.

"Hello Doc." She called to the dark home. "Anybody home? Hello-?"

"Well, this is a surprise." A deep voice behind her made Trish jump. She swiveled around and found the exact person she was looking for. The "professor" looked down at her intently and asked, "Here to punch your way into joining my group again?"

"Nope, nope." The girl backed up against the front door nervously. "This is just a social call. Um…You're not still smarting over the….?" She looked up at her old boss and tapped her cheek with her fist.

"Never." Vandal Savage dismissed lightly. "I prefer to let bygones be bygones. So what are you doing on my door step?"

"I saw a Dr. Lazarus Long in the phone book." Trish said quietly as if that was an explanation.

"Ah, yes." The man chuckled. "People of this era probably wouldn't have gotten that."

Trish cleared her throat. "I'm an extended tour of the 31st century so… Well I thought the first thing I could do was-"

"Look up all the winning lottery numbers."

"No, that's the second thing." Trish replied quickly to hide the fact that she actually hadn't thought of that. "First item on the list: seek out the man who cannot and will not die to see what I missed." Even though Trish stood before an immortal, a legendary man who has seen nearly all of human history and was one of the most notorious criminal masterminds to ever live, it was not the man that scared her.

"Now be honest with me, Savage. I can take it." She took a deep breath and asked, "Do I look like the hero type to you?"

Vandal Savage stared down curiously at one of the few things in the world that still managed to surprise him. "Young, Impulsive, idealistic," He replied off handily. "I suppose so."

"This is serious, man!" Trish grabbed the criminal by his collar. "I was barely staying afloat back in the day and now I'm 987 years away from home without a prayer. Shit!" When she realized what she was doing Trish let go of Savage and instead took out her frustrations on the wall. "I don't suppose you're still running the game." She muttered. "Then I can stick to what I'm good at."

"Believe it or not, my dear," Savage replied as he scooted her out of the way so he could enter his own house. "Even the criminal game gets boring _eventually_." Once the door was opened he motioned her in. "Would you like a game of chess and a cup of tea to calm your nerves?" He asked his guest. "I seem to recall you were the twitchy type."

"I'm not twitchy." Trish muttered and followed. "And I hate chess."

"Checkers then," Savage suggested with delight. "That should be easy enough. It's hard to find anyone these days willing to play a classic game with an old man." And as "proper" villains of olden times did, they discussed the ways of the world over tea and games.

"What happened?" Trish asked after she had finally cooled off a little. Savage was now politely informed of the details of her situation. Information exchange was a tricky game, but at last she could move on to what she really wanted to know.

"Oh, the usual." Savage replied nonchalantly as he studied her checkers game. "As you know the US was in a state of …decline. It got better. I've seen the signs many times. It's true technology was so much more advanced than, say, the World War 2 era," He sighed. "But equally important things, like philosophy, were all but forgotten."

"_Roman Matrons told their sons to return with their shields or on them_." Trish quoted. "_When this practice fell so did Rome_." She looked at her host. "Isn't that right, Lazarus?"

"Hmmm, simplistically speaking." Savage leaned back in his chair with the classic evil nod and finger pyramid. "You were already aware of the decline and joined the… 'movement' with the rest of us."

"You make it sound so noble." Trish frowned. "King me. Society was sick. We were merely the symptoms, but the fools ignored their own cancer." Her yellow aura wavered as she thought back in time to her home world.

"Yes, the third world war, as some scholars like to call it, was most interesting." This Savage sounded more like an actual professor than the super villain Trish had known him as. She didn't know whether to be amused or not. She twitched when he said, "It seemed even Superman's death wasn't enough to inspire peace in the entire world. That would come much, much later."

"And the others?" Trish asked in a quiet tone. "They failed? The League of Shadows? The Red Underground?"

"Merely groups of old men and women well past their prime." His tone was wistful. "If the cause was to survive it needed to pass on to younger hands. I stepped back and took more of an advisor role, for all the good it's done."

"And now?"

"Unity." Savage's tone expressed that he himself was amazed and surprised by it as well. "Earth is no longer divided by silly things such as borders or countries. Tolerance of aliens has become almost insufferable." He sight. "To think humanity would one day cure itself of those petty ails so soon. Retirement is so mundane. It's everything I can do to keep myself from being bored."

"You're really not planning anything?" Trish asked to be sure. To be in the game so long only to retire sounded silly. "King me."

"That game no longer amuses me." Savage replied after stealing several of her pieces from the board. "Perhaps in another hundred years or so I'll get bored enough. And take that." In a single swift move the old timer had won the game.

"Hey!" Trish protested when the last of her pieces had been removed. A message from Brainiac 5 halted her protests.

"Yellow Torch, come in." The signal was still broken, but Trish still heard it loud and clear.

She groaned and replied, "Go ahead Brainy." After a pause she rethought her irritated response and said, "I mean, Yellow Torch here."

"Saturn Girl and Phantom Girl said they lost contact…"

"Sorry, Brainy. My bracelets are interfering again. " Trish said and was glad for it. She wasn't sure what her new friends would think if they saw _who_she was with. She bowed to politely to her host. "I'm heading back now."

"What? ..fizz.."

"I'm on my way!" Trish shouted at the ring. "Geeze. I didn't know friends were such a hassle." She looked at Savage again and said, "Let me know when you're bored of retirement."

Savage chuckled as he showed her out, "If you say so, but I take it you don't plan on staying."

"I'm taking the next bus back, don't worry." Trish assured him.

"I wouldn't be so sure." The old man replied cryptically. "If I can remember correctly after the incident you spoke there are no more mentions of anyone who was called _Yellow Torch_."

Trish gripped her hands, but otherwise showed no emotions. "So I stay here." She said quietly.

"That is possible." Savage agreed. "As for your checkers game…"

"What about it?" Trish snapped.

"Your moments and your strategy," Savage mused. "You'd forgo a victory just to prove a point."

Trish's fists shook slightly with the tension. "What do you mean? What point?"

"You want me to say: 'Yes, you're stupid and brash like every other hero I've met in history', but that's not what you are at all is it?" Savage hid a smile. "Careful, considering, plotting… all you do are a means to accomplishing your own goals. That's not very heroic is it?"

"It's different this time," Trish snapped. "I have people to help me, people who aren't afraid of me- Just because I couldn't be a hero the last millennium, doesn't mean I can't be one in this one."

"So, let me ask you one more time-" Trish turned to her old boss, the guy who had set her up in the Doom Legion centuries ago and sent her and her cohorts against the one and only Justice League to meet his own evil ends. She asked, "No games, no riddles, just answer me. _Do I look like a hero to you_?"


	3. Episode 2

**Chapter Two: Wooded Eco**

Trish had no difficulty making it back to the Legion's base. Her visit with Savage had been informative, but she wouldn't be making any snap judgments just yet. What he said about the "Yellow Torch" disappearing from history raised many questions and Trish forced them all to the back of her mind as she entered hero territory. She had bigger problems on her hands right now.

"Did they fill you in?" Trish asked when she sensed Superman's approach.

"Some of it," Superman replied as he walked alongside her. Trish assumed that a mission had come in. Otherwise there would be no reason to call them both back. The girl felt a pinch of envy as she watched the legendary man out of the corner of her mind. Trish wanted to have some "fun" too. She didn't like having too much free time. Free time led to other things.

"One thing's for sure," Superman said breaking the girl's train thought. "You sure can hit hard."

"I'm sorry, _old man_." Trish stressed the last two words. Although in their current forms there really wasn't that much of an age difference between them at least compared to their other "first meeting". The tartness in her choice of words was heartfelt. She held no affection of the man for steel. They were not friends in the past and she had no intention of becoming friends in this time period either. She tried to put some distance between them.

"Leave me alone." Trish growled. "It's one thing to be a legend in this time where most of the details have been lost or obscured," She warned him again, "But to actually meet someone from your future that's something else entirely."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Superman said optimistically. He hadn't given up on the slim chance comrade just yet.

"I don't have the confidence not to slip up," Trish snapped. "So it's better for everyone if you stay the hell away from me."

"I'm going to need a better reason than that." Superman told her. Trish stopped walking and glared at her old enemy. She was surprised to see that even he had been so naïve once. Trish secretly wished that she could remember a time when she was like that, but she couldn't.

"Time can be rewritten." Trish said, but she couldn't say exactly _who _had taught her that. "It's not perfect, but trying to change the past is the same thing as running away from it."

"Why is that so important to you?" Superman asked. It was fair question, but he couldn't know what she was thinking. There's no way he could know about the dark days that occurred after the Justice League. In the 31st century the records of that period of time had been either lost or ill kept, but Savage had told her everything. Well, almost everything. Trish glanced outside a window at the new Earth and wished her era had been equally as bright. Then maybe she wouldn't have had to become a super villain. This Earth gave Trish a sense of catharsis making her believe that just maybe her past actions were not completely in vain. She thought that perhaps even in a small way she could help this world come into being by leaving the past as it was. However, there was also another reason why she had agreed to Braniac 5's suggestion of returning to Earth.

"The Ramiki taught me a little something about karma." Trish explained to Brainiac 5's beloved friend. "Can you imagine how Brainy feels having turned against his friends like that, Mr. _Boy Scout_?" This time Trish drawled out his more youthful nick-name. Superman frowned, but before he could reply Trish cut in with, "It's very small, but I think I can help. If the Legion can accept a person like _me _into the ranks I think it'll help restore Brainy's confidence."

Then like an injection of venom strait into the man's "invulnerable" chest the girl let a quiet phrase slip past her wicked lips, "_So one day when you make the same mistake, you won't beat yourself up over it._."

"Y-you're lying!"

"Am I?" Trish asked sweetly. "Then how come your _best friends_ carry kryptonite?"

**-Back at base-**

"We got a mission." Lightning Lad told their trial member when she entered the room. Trish glanced nervously around at the senior legionaries present and was feeling just a little bit like a sideshow freak in a circus. Brainiac 5 was right behind her and fired up his computer for the debriefing. He had finished working on Trish's _temporary _legionnaire's ring for the moment. He had found the puzzle of compensating for her energy field to be a delightful and challenging distraction. Although Braniac 5 had tried to hide it, he still was feeling awkward around his friends.

"Time to break in the rookie." Lightning Lad added with a drawl.

Trish flexed her powers just enough to bath the room in a bright light before the field calmed to barely a glimmer. Her lips tilted into a half smirk as she said, "And just who are you calling a '_rookie'_?"

"I better come along in case Trish's ring needs adjustments." Brainiac 5 suggested although more than likely if he went along it would be just to play referee.

"Why bother?" Lighting Lad taunted. "It's only a loan."

"Oh, believe me." Trish baited. "I intend to pay you back…" She flexed her powers again in subtle pulses as she added, "In full."

"Both of you need to be put on a leash." Saturn Girl cut in. She deliberately put herself between the two feuding "children" so Brainiac 5 could continue with the mission's description.

"I want to see what she can do." Superman declared.

"No!" Everyone who knew of Trish's "timely" circumstances instantly vetoed the idea. Trish rolled her eyes.

"Lightning Lad and I will go as supervisors." Brainiac 5 suggested. "We'll be accompanied by Phantom Girl for her diplomacy skills and Timber Wolf for some extra muscle."

"_And _charm I hope," Timber Wolf added as he crossed his arms.

Trish swallowed uneasily and shuffled to hide behind Saturn Girl. Taking the cue Saturn Girl said, "No, I think I better go as well."

Brainiac 5 frowned. "It would be illogical to have so many senior members for such a small mission," He said. The others agreed, but they were all curious about the new girl. She was a most unusual novelty considering the current demographics of Earth.

Trish's presence also was a severe bending of traditional Legion standards. There was an unwritten rule about all members having powers. Powers from items didn't count and copy-cats weren't allowed. When she heard about the rule Trish was tempted to smash a few walls in protest. Even in the Justice League days the ones without "super powers" were the ones to be feared. In the "good ol' days" all one really needed was a mind and an opinion (and a basic understanding of ninjutsu).

"It'll be fine." Trish waved Brainiac 5 off. Her druthers were that he remained on base figuring out how to send her back home to her time. "I'll be on my best behavior," She promised with her fingers crossed behind her back.

"You better." Lightning Lad told her. Trish replied by sticking her tongue out at him in the traditional snotty manner.

Brainiac 5 sighed and said, "Fine." He punched in a few additional calculations before adding, "Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Timber Wolf, and Yellow Torch." He looked over at his young friend with a serious expression. "This is your chance, Trish. Show them what you can do."

Trish saluted and replied with, "21st century girl traveling to unknown lands and meeting alien life in all its forms? Dude, I was born for this trope."

"Very well." Brainiac 5 knew that was probably the most serious answer he would be getting out of her at the moment. "We'll begin with a debriefing." He pulled up the file and planet came in view on the projector. "This is Orando, a low tech planet similar to Earth's medieval era," Brainiac 5 explained. "I'm sure you'll find it cozy, Trish."

"Oh, gee thanks." Trish muttered.

"It's also a magic world so be careful." Phantom Girl chimed in from experience. "They like to have their own batch of special rules."

"For the last time," Brainiac 5 groaned. "It's not 'magic'. It's…" After the "It's" part all Trish could hear was gibberish even with the translator.

"All that tech mojo is as good as magic to me." Trish said with a yawn.

* * *

Once the team was planet side the first order of business was getting the local's side of the story. Lightning Lad would lead the mission (much to Trish's chagrin). Saturn Girl did her thing. She could tell from her mental sweep that the locals were worried. A member of the royal family, Pharoxx, had been kidnapped. Pharoxx served as Orando's ambassador and was a major player in government politics. Braniac 5 had been thorough in his debriefing, but he had been wrong about one thing. Trish definitely did not like her first impression of Orando. She had been expecting (or to be more accurate, "hoping") Orando to be something like a renaissance fair, but in reality the people dressed like they were posing to be the faces on a deck of cards and like everything else in the future it was strange and alien to the 21st century girl. Trish shoved her grievances aside to focus on the mission. All she had to do was help the legionnaires find Pharoxx and hope that fate would be kind enough to offer up a sacrificial punching bag. Lightning Lad was getting on her last nerves with the "rookie" comments.

"Pharoxx has been funding a lot of construction projects lately." The guard at the entrance told them. "With it comes the usual worker relations problems," He said as he listed a few. "Safety issues, people get laid off…"

"Worker's compensation issues…" Trish added while keeping track of the list using her fingers.

The guard looked at her puzzled. "Worker's compensation? What's that?"

"And nobody had a voodoo hex out for this guy?" she asked jokingly.

Trish's heroic comrades gave her a stern look.

"What?" Trish asked mimicking the guard's puzzled expression. "I'm descended from a bunch of superstitious bastards too."

Lightning Lad pulled her the side and in harsh whisper said, "We _really _need to work on your hero lingo."

"Fine, whatever." Trish released herself from her team leader's grip. "I didn't sign up to be a detective. Let me know when you need some extra 'extra muscle'." She shot a micro-glance at Timber Wolf over her shoulder before finding a nice shady spot to chill under. Trish was secretly fuming because back in her villain day she was the _main _muscle and more than a match for even the Justice League. Jealousy had nothing to do with logic, but as Brainiac 5 would tell her, getting along with others is just as important as ability. It seemed to Trish that this hero business was just full of unnecessary complications.

"Rookies." Lightning Lad grumbled.

"That's strange," Saturn Girl mused. "I thought King Voxx would be greeting us. This is where the distress message came from." There was just one thing inhibiting their investigation. The Legionnaires had been barred from the scene of the crime. They had been chatting with the guard for several minutes and he had been very forthcoming with their questions on the incident, but no matter what they said he would not admit them into the royal estate.

"King Voxx won't be seeing you because my father did not send the message," A haughty female voice declared from above. "I did."

All three legionaries (and "friend") looked up to see a young lady with snow white hair and a very royal attitude. In full grand splendor the excessive doors were opened to them and they had the esteemed pleasure of meeting Princess Projectra for the first time. The ordered them to follow her, discreetly, into the inner chambers of her castle home as she explained, "I had heard of the great exploits of the Legion."

"So that's why you called us in to help," Lightning Lad was pleased, but in an instant his pride was shot down.

"No, our guards are perfectly capable of carrying out their duties," The princess said. "I just thought this way would be more fun."

* * *

"I like her style," Trish said cheerfully. "I'm just not sure I like _her_"

Once the team had split up between the "extra muscle" and the "investigators", Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl had the pleasure of working with the princess while Timber Wolf had the honor of babysitting the rookie. After a few minutes of sneaking (which is very difficult when you're a living light bulb), Trish and Timber Wolf were able to locate Lord Pharoxx's chambers and the scene of the crime. The room had been cleaned up a little since his disappearance (destroying most of the evidence in the process), but the duo could still see the clear signs of a struggle between Pharoxx and who (or what) ever had snatched.

Trish didn't see anything out of the ordinary that the castle guards would have missed. Unlike them she didn't have any magic tricks to pull out of her hat. At first she tried to put herself in the mindset of the best detective she knew, but gave up shortly afterwards and decided to watch the "blood hound" do his work. She felt kind of bad that he was stuck with her rather than doing something useful. She tried to think of anything that might be useful, but the technology barrier of time and space kept getting in the way. By the end of her internal dialogue Trish was tired and depressed.

The emotion carried over until she saw a stringed instrument in the corner of the room. Snatching it up from its resting place Trish marched over to the balcony and began experimenting with the tuning. On the bright side, Pharoxx's bedroom had an excellent view of a vast green forest. Pretending to be one of those old time minstrels Trish plucked the strings. The breeze picked up giving her a wonderful feeling.

"Somehow I don't think that's helping." Timber Wolf said suddenly appearing behind her. Startled, Trish nearly jumped out of her skin and off the balcony.

"W-what?" She stuttered trying to regain her composure. "You need someone to fly? A heavy hitter? A negotiator?" She calmed down and played with the instrument again. "Seems to me you got all that."

"Then why are you here?"

"I get bored easily." Trish told him.

Finally Trish seemed to get the hang of it and began playing one of Tracy's favorites, _Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór_. Almost as if in response to the "magical" tune, the wind began picking up again. Trish played softly so that her mistakes wouldn't be heard. Tracy had told her the story of the piece. Two fairy hills, a big hill and a little hill, were at war. Upon request the song was written to be so beautiful that it could bring peace to the fairy folk. Trish didn't know if the song worked on the fairies, but it was beautiful enough for her and she taught it to herself hoping that one day the magic would work on the turmoil in her own heart.

A loud crack broke the girl's concentration and Timber Wolf started growing. Both their instincts were on high alert. They could see the forest moving in waves in a manner that was very untree-like. Trish stood up and instrument in her hands fell to the ground forgotten as she stared ahead.

"In my archaic opinion," She said as her body trembled slightly. As her fear increased so too did the power that surrounded her body. "If those are ordinary trees, then you may address me as 'Queen Elizabeth'."

Finally the wave reached the Castle and huge roots ripped through the earth. On a guided path directly to the room where both Trish and Timber Wolf were standing snakes of wood the size of man's torso zeroed in. Timber Wolf dodged, but Trish chose to take the hit head on. She clapped her hands together and pleaded with the artifact on her wrist.

"Like an ax," She half whispered half prayed.

The branches made a horrible noise that, if it had come from an animal, sounded a lot like a scream as the wood divided right down the middle. Only Brainac 5 had seen Trish in action before. The others were all in for a surprise because Trish was not only good in a crisis, she excelled. Unlike a green lantern (or any lantern for that matter because a lantern she was not) Trish's power didn't extend far from her body and she couldn't wield into creative shapes, but that wasn't her style. If one were to ask the legendary citizen warriors of ancient Greece what their most valuable weapon was, they probably would answer the _aspis_, their shield.

While Trish's defenses were superb, she was finding it very difficult to formulate a means of going on the actual offensive against a tree. They were definitely hitting the killer plant at its roots, but Trish still was under the impression that they might was well be trimming hedges. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Timber Wolf about to be crushed by the serpentine branches. His bites and scratches were only marking the "skin" of their assailant.

"Hang on, Wolfy." Trish grabbed Timber Wolf's hand and extended her barrier to include him. The plants shrieked in what sounded like anger as the girl broke through the tree line and flew up out of their range. A crack of lightning alerted Trish that help had arrived. Lightning Lad fired blast after blast with Saturn Girl assisting him with telekinesis. Trish was impressed with their level of coordination, but what really saved the day was when the castle guards appeared armed with lit torches under the command of their Princess.

Trish flew over to the team captain. "Lighting against wood," She said with false manners. "Very effective, m'lord."

"Your sarcasm has been noted." Lightning Lad replied evenly.

"You can put me down now." Timber Wolf commented in a bored tone thus reminding Trish that she had a passenger.

Trish gave an evil grin and was about to drop him when Saturn Girl broke in, "Don't even think about it." She warned. "You know what he meant."

"Fine." Trish audibly sighed in disappointment. When they reached the ground she sat down to ease her nerves and regain control of the artifact. Killer trees weren't on her top five list of fears. She could continue the mission without worry. Hoping to strike up polite detective's conversation she asked her teammates, "So, what have we learned so far?"

The Legionnaires exchanged glances.

"You don't think Pharoxx was kidnapped by a bunch of trees do you?" Lightning Lad asked with his own brand of disbelief.

"Says the guy who can shoot lightning and has a psychic girlfriend," Trish muttered. She wiggled her fingers at him and pointed out, "_Magic _world, remember?"

At the same time both Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl protested embarrassed, "I'm/She's not his/my girlfriend!"

"You enjoy doing that, don't you?" Timber Wolf noted dryly.

"Oh, yeah." Trish confirmed as she massaged her aching shoulder. "If only being obnoxious was considered a superpower."

At that moment the Orandian princess Projectra appeared demanding an explanation for the rampaging trees and wanted to know exactly what the legionnaire's planned to do about it. Several ideas were tossed around, but Trish didn't like a single one of them. She groaned. Didn't anybody study history that _didn't _involve red and blue tights?

"Let's see," Trish rested her chin on her palm. There was something in her tone that demanded attention. "We officially have crazy giant plants on a rampage." She grinned and added, "On my world, the first thing you do in that situation is look for a couple of overzealous environmentalists." The others put their conversation on pause a moment to consider what she had just said. To be fair, Trish's education in criminology wasn't exactly standard and there was something odd about the twinkle in the ex(hopefully)criminal's eye that made them all feel a bit uneasy.

"I guess it's a start." Saturn Girl said although chances were she had read Trish's afterthought about if they didn't like the idea then Trish would just look around on her own. Then she mentally mumbled something suggestive just strong enough for the telepath to hear about how they definitely didn't want to leave a known criminal (well possibly "ex" criminal) to her own devices on a planet whose reining government looked like they got their fashion tips off a deck of ye old playing cards.

Trish faked a look of innocence. "It was just a thought," She said as she fluttered her eyelashes pleasantly.

Lightning Lad sighed in defeat with a reluctant, "Fine." They didn't really have any "better" ideas at the moment.

"Cool!" Trish cheered and grabbed Saturn Girl's arm. "Dibs on the girl team."

* * *

"Anything?" Trish asked in a bored tone.

"No, everybody seems pretty happy with the city expansion plans." Saturn Girl shrugged.

"That in itself is just plain weird," Trish grumbled, but the facts couldn't be ignored. The traditional angle seemed like a dead end. If Trish ever got back to her own time she was going to have a serious talk with a man with a penchant for black. Although if she did return she would have to honor her promise of turning herself in perhaps she could con a few of her old "friends" into visiting her. Being tossed in the clank sounded boring. Speaking of boring, Trish wanted to scream in frustration. It was her first mission and it had only a total of two minutes of excitement. Detective material she was not.

"ARG!" Trish growled. "You'd think with a name like the 'Dark Enchanted Forest' somebody would be like- 'nooo the trees are cuuuuursed ooooo-!" She wiggled her arms making for a rather silly picture. Her companion was beginning to wonder about humans of the 21st century.

"Oh, but they are cursed." A soft voice commented casually. Both girls turned to see a very suspicious looking hooded figure hiding in the shadows.

Trish was elated, "Finally! I was worried I was the wrong genre savvy."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Saturn Girl was instantly on guard as she tried to sense what the figure was thinking. She could feel nothing, like the person was hollow or-

"Nothing, nothing," Trish replied in a very chipper manner. "I'm just confirming my belief in a higher power." She approached the suspicious figure without caution and asked very seriously, "So what's this about a curse?"

"Go to the heart of the forest and you'll see." The hooded person said before disappearing.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Trish clapped her hands together in instant decision and flew up to get a better mark on their intended destination.

"Wait," Saturn Girl held up her hand to halt her impulsive teammate. "Doesn't this sound just a bit too easy?"

Trish crossed her arms in a pout. "You heard the shady guy in the hood," Trish said. "The direct route is always the shortest." After saying that, Trish tapped her index finger to her skull. She didn't like the way sound carried in this world and felt that some conversations should remain private.

'_It's obviously a trap_' Saturn Girl warned again.

'_Duh!_' Trish replied over the telepathic link making Saturn Girl instantly regret prying. Even Trish's inner voice was obnoxious. '_What do you think I am? Twelve? Of course it's a trap._'

'_Then what you're suggesting is that we walk right in knowing it's a trap?_'

Trish paused. "…Isn't that what heroes do?" She was so sincere in her question that Saturn Girl almost laughed.

"No it's not." Saturn Girl sighed. Trish may have been an obnoxious criminal mastermind in training, but she was a surprisingly honest criminal mastermind in training. Perhaps the girl's time in the Legion would be enough to turn her around.

Trish scratched her head, "Look, we're just going to check it out." Once again she began illustrating her point with her hands. '_I'm not saying we go in gun blazing. We just take a peek and then call for backup._' As a final note she added with a shrug, "It's the first solid lead we've had all day."

* * *

"Okay, I'm suddenly having second thoughts about the creepy forest."

"Can't you turn that light down?" Saturn Girl hissed. "Everyone within a hundred meters could see us."

"I can't help it," Trish whined. "They didn't call me the 'Yellow Torch' for nothing. I can't turn it off."

Saturn Girl paused. There was something odd in what Trish had said and in the way she had said it. She wanted to probe the girl's mind, but oddly enough unless Trish gave the invitation herself then the reading was extremely difficult. Something was constantly clouding the girl's thoughts like a fog.

"What do you mean you 'can't turn it off'?" Saturn Girl asked very slowly and cautiously.

"Huh?" Trish looked puzzled. "I thought you knew. I guess I've severely overestimated telepaths." She looked down at the yellow light surrounding her. "Emotions converted into energy. I'm usually pretty cool about shit, but you better watch out when I'm freaked." Her hand shook. "But I can't control it. This barrier constantly surrounds me as proof that no matter what," The last bit was barely a whisper. "I'm always afraid."

"That's why Brainy…" Saturn Girl realized. To be in a constant state of fear would do terrible harm to the body. Trish's life span would be shortened. Through the haze of fear in the girl's mind Saturn Girl could pick out strands of thoughts. Little whispers that could be considered primal wishes such as the need to be wanted, to be part of a group, and to be accepted and not feared.

"Freak." Trish stuck out her tongue again. "You're over thinking it. I'm totally fine and-"

Something solid hit Trish from behind. Blades and blasters had no effect on her thanks to the barrier, but that didn't mean she was immune to blunt trauma. Her fifth greatest fear was getting an internal injury that couldn't be treated because her own defenses wouldn't let anyone or anything in. Trish instinctively countered with the artifact's power in a bright flash before the world went black.

"…Trish…..Trish!"

She could hear Saturn Girl calling her, but Trish really didn't want to wake up. She could already tell that her left arm had a bone fracture and it hurt, a lot. The back of her head was still throbbing too. Trish had a rough idea about what probably had attacked them and her hunch was confirmed when she slowly opened her eyes. It looked like a very sticky situation and the first thing Trish mumbled was, "Ewwww, tree sap."

"Trish!"

"I'm okay." Trish tested her bonds. Whatever the sap was made of, it held them fast. It looked like they had been captured and brought underground. The cavern was wall to wall roots and the only light source (much to Trish's embarrassment) was Trish herself. She looked at the new third member of their party. "Pharoxx I presume."

"Indeed," Pharoxx replied sharing Trish's less than impressed tone. "Well done on the rescue attempt, Legion."

"And he tells jokes." Trish wanted to applaud, but her hands were tied up at the moment. "No wonder this guy is so popular."

"It…says its name is 'Tamu'." Saturn Girl said as she tried to sense their captor. "It's been sleeping in the forest for a thousand years. Pharoxx's construction must have woke it up."

"Terribly inconvenient." Pharoxx agreed. "How was I supposed to know there was sentient life hibernating here?"

"It's not sentient by itself," Saturn Girl corrected. "It's more like when the branches combined they somehow form a single entity made up of many parts."

"Swell, just like the man o' war jellyfishes we have back home." Trish rambled on although she only pretending to be interested. "You page the team captain now."

"They're on their way," Saturn Girl confirmed as she tried to feel for the Tamu's consciousness again. "I'll try to reason with the Tamu."

As the room started to shake violently Trish said, "No offence, but I don't think we have that long." Some of the roots were acting a little more lively than the others and Trish had the strangest feeling that they were being aimed at her. "Uh oh."

As predicted, a single white root broke away from the wall and buried itself in Trish's chest. The girl's golden armor flashed in a brilliant light, but it wouldn't mean anything if she was crushed under the pressure between the root and the wall. Trish had a short flashback about grass growing between sidewalk cracks and sincerely hoped the same thing wouldn't occur between her ribs. Then the impossible happened. The root actually pierced the light barrier and the girl screamed.

"Trish!"

"Impossible…" Trish gasped. Was that the power of magic? Was the Tamu's hatred so great that it overpowered Trish's fear? Off in the distance she could hear a voice saying something strange. Trish wondered if it was the Tamu. No, the Tamu was a tree. There was no reason for it to use the language of pests. They were pests, horrible tiny creatures who's only instinct was to destroy, but was that the Tamu's impression or Trish's? She didn't belong there. There was no reason for her to die on a strange planet far from her home.

Despite her pain, Trish wanted to laugh. She had always thought of trees as benevolent things. She was actually rather fond of the oak kind herself. Beautiful trees whose only concern was to look to the light and grow. No matter what creature carved out the tree's heart for its own gain or what ax rested against the trunk with the promise of death, the answer was always the same; Look to the light and grow. Just as Trish was certain she had reached her limit the distance voice reached hear ears again. She recognized it, not the voice, but the pattern. To Trish the voice sounded like an old disk recording that was scratched and keep skipping in one place.

The message played over and over stuck on that one point, "Humans know your place…" Trish's senses perked up and determination once again stirred within her. "Earth must be protected…Humans know your place…Earth must be protected—"

Trish's chest was still throbbing as she came to. She tried her best to not to look down at the branch growing out of her shirt and managed to croak, "ugh… S-saturn Girl, translate for me…"

"Trish!"

"Just…do it…"

"Trac- er," Trish's mind was still jumbled, but this was something that absolutely had to be said. "The original Yellow Torch taught me that the power comes second. Please… Tamu"

"Don't," Saturn Girl warned. She wanted Trish to conserve her strength. "They can sense when you're lying."

"Who's lying?" Trish shouted and immediately began coughing. The Tamu had cracked a few of her ribs. _There's nothing like the "ye old fashion" interrogation techniques_, Trish thought and instantly retracted the "punching bag" request she had made earlier. Even for stray thoughts, karma was a bitch.

"She taught me by example." The current Yellow Torch admitted quietly. "I've been haunted by those images ever since I got this… _thing_ stuck on my arm, but you know something?" She spoke to all, "If Tracy had really wanted to she could have wiped the floor with those guys, but she _didn't._"

This time Trish spoke directly to the Tamu. Trish had no right to, but she believed. She believed that something that could sleep for a thousand years wouldn't harm anything without reason. She remembered Earth, her earth, and the creatures there. She wasn't sure how many had lived through the centuries to the time they currently existed in, but there was one thing she remembered clearly. The largest of creatures was usually the most harmless and gentlest. It was humans that Trish had always feared and what they could do. The earthling sincerely hoped that her primitive feelings that had crossed time and space would reach the alien-

_No, that wasn't it, the girl corrected herself._ Trish hoped that _she_who was the alien and trespasser in the eyes of the Tamu could reach the great tree in a way that Trish had never dared to hope for herself. Trish sincerely hoped that she understood the Tamu as only a lonely soul with eyes, a mind, and an opinion all her own could.

"…Sure," Trish said. "The bipeds think you're just weeds and, you're right, we're no better than insects to you-" She closed her eyes and prayed. "But I believe that you are wiser than that. Please, show them in a way that only you can."

Once this was spoken the walls began to shake again.

"That's wonderful!" Pharoxx shouted. "Now you've really made it mad."

"No." Trish sighed. "It's over."

The three captives could feel themselves moving upwards and once they reached the surface the Tamu's roots released them. Trish fell to the ground coughing and Saturn Girl instantly came to her aid. Above them was the canopy of a wide tree, bigger than anything Trish had ever seen. Well almost. Trish was pretty sure she had seen an old CGI movie about a magic tree somewhere. It was a shame the animator's imaginations had fell somewhat short.

"Beautiful," Trish said in wonderment. Saturn Girl hadn't forgotten that they were all still covered in gooey disgusting sap and for the moment decided to keep her opinions to herself. Trish's ears perked up as they heard the battle cry of the rest of the team.

Not surprisingly the first thing Lightning Lad shouted was the name of his teammate. Trish could see him preparing for an attack on the Tamu tree and instantly moved (much to her regret later) to block the lightning strike. She winced as once again her body reminded her that she had just taken a most brutal beating. Trish knew she would be put on the bench, so to speak, after this mission so she could properly heal, but for the moment she had considered the injuries worth it. After all, something she had always wanted to say that most definitely belonged in a cheesy hero b-flick was:

"Please don't hurt it anymore!" Trish shouted as loud as she could with two or three cracked ribs and a fractured arm.

The line sounded a lot better in her head, but the desired effect had been reached. Lightning Lad stopped in his tracks stunned as Trish took a couple of gasps before returning to her "normal" frank attitude towards the team leader.

"We got it, pal" Trish told him. "Get Pharoxx."

As Lightning Lad quickly obeyed it was Timber Wolf who helped Trish stay on her feet.

"I guess this makes us even," Trish sighed in gratitude for the extra support. She was suddenly very tired.

"Flight ring," Timber Wolf reminded as he held up his own.

"Sure," Trish replied in a flirty manner. "If you're into that kind of thing."

* * *

"This is serious Brainy." Lightning Lad said to the Legion's on-call "smart guy" using his ring. "The Orandians are not willing to negotiate on this." He tapped his fingers in irritation as he explained, "It's either we go to war with a whole planet or cut down one lousy tree and you know where my vote is going on this."

Trish rolled her eyes. The guy could certainly hold a grudge where his "girlfriend" was concerned. Brainiac 5, however, was seriously taking the situation under careful consideration.

"Still," Brainiac 5 replied cautiously. "The tree is millions of years old and Saturn Girl confirms that it is sentient." He shook his head unsure on how to approach the issue from a fair angle. "We can't rush into this. In its mind the Orandians made the first move by destroying all of its seed pods."

Lightning Lad groaned, "He just had to mention that bit."

"With a thousand year hibernation," Trish grinned smugly since she had been the one to realize it when the others hadn't. "It had to be part of a gestation cycle."

"If the Orandians continue with the construction plans," Saturn Girl added, "Then it's almost like genocide."

"Or natural selection." Lightning Lad grumbled. "What kind of plant only grows once every thousand years?" Saturn Girl glared at him.

"It's quite a conundrum." Braniac 5 agreed. "Trish, you better come back. Orando doesn't have the right equipment for your medical treatment."

Trish glanced down at the first aid job Timber Wolf and Saturn Girl had done. As long as she didn't move around too much her wounds wouldn't get worse, but she was still in a lot of pain and it showed on her unusually pale face. What also showed on her face was the fact that her pride would absolutely not let her back out of the mission now.

"If you were a super villain you'd already know the answer to that so-called conundrum." Trish declared. "All life, great or small, human or insect, is worth pretty much the same." Her sudden harsh tone caught everyone by surprise including herself. She wasn't a present person when she was in pain, she knew that, but what Trish wanted most in the world was to be accepted by somebody. So far that list persons was made up of a former robot and a tree. Trish snapped, "Instead of worrying about others, just worry about yourself. So, what do you _heroes_want to do?"

"I don't know." Brainiac 5 said in a level tone. "The logical choice would be-"

Trish interrupted the "logical" option with another old time suggestion, "Why don't we first see if we can't work something out for everybody?"

"Like what?" Lightning Lad asked as he crossed his arms. A glaring contest ensued between the two of them.

"I don't know yet." Trish admitted after a moment. "Times like this usually call for day trip to a stuffy library full of dust bunnies." Trish racked her brain for every scrap of useful "truth" she could find. "There has to be something in Orando lore about the Tamu."

"We don't have time for that!"

"Make time." Trish snapped back fighting tears. "Find a nutty professor, historian, anyone!" The final blow was when she added, "Or quit now and take the easy way out." That last bit visibly struck a nerve with the legionaries.

"It's worth a try." Saturn Girl agreed. However, she gave Trish a very stern look. "But we do this then you are going back to the ship to rest no questions asked and no protests."

Trish felt a wave of relief and flew up a ways, "The law of bureaucratic-thermanamics says that Pharoxx can't do anything until a pencil pusher seals the deal." She said before adding a "probably" under her breath. "Lightning Lad, if you can persuade the king to wait Saturn Girl and Timber Wolf can find the expert we need. Oh! And the princess could help."

"Fine, fine," Lightning Lad said giving into to Trish's pace. "But you are going back to the ship now, rookie."

Trish grinned, "You can't call me that forever. Good luck!" And seemingly Trish obeyed, but she already had another plan in mind and a dangerous one. Luckily the pain was interfering with her train of thought so her stray thoughts hadn't been picked up by Saturn Girl. Trish knew that trick wouldn't last long so she was going to milk the opportunity for everything it was worth. "Time tap into my inner monkey and try to persuade a tree not to kill innocent people." She glanced behind her to where the Legionaries had gone. "Do you really think the Tamu will just stay quiet about all this?"

* * *

As much as Trish loved to discredit her temporary teammates, they were the Legion of Superheroes after all. With the help of the princess they were able to get the information they needed. Enough data existed to prove that the Tamu was an important element to Orando's entire ecosystem and it also indirectly affected the planet's inhabitant's natural magical abilities.

"This new evidence does require that we reexamine the matter carefully." Admitted the king once he had received the report.

"I'm glad you think so, father." Princess Projectra said with a very royal smile. "I'm sure cousin Pharoxx won't mind changing his plans just a little bit."

Pharoxx looked disheartened. "I won't lie," He said. "It's a major setback to the plans, but I'll start a committee to-"

Pharoxx's heart felt speech was cut off by a large explosion off in the distance. A terrible sound that could only have been one thing, the death of the Tamu, could be heard. Everyone rushed to the window to see. The forest was in flames. The firestorm was spreading and all eyes could tell that it was not by any means a natural technology.

"Those fires are unnatural." Someone shouted. It was only natural that they all would be alarmed. The disaster was not only contained to the forest, the whole city was now in danger.

"It must be foreign technology!"

Pharoxx shouted and pointed, "It's the Legion! They tricked us!"

"Seize them!" The king ordered on cue.

The legionnaires were instantly surrounded by royal soldiers.

"Hey, it wasn't us!" Lightning Lad protested.

Timing her entrance just right Trish punched a hole in the wall using her good arm. She wasn't "afraid" exactly, but she was royally pissed. Trish threw down a sniveling local whom Pharoxx instantly recognized, but he quickly schooled his expression. Behind her the forest fire was providing Trish with a very monumental backdrop. "Rookie" indeed was the gist of her expression, but she soon turned her attention to the man she admired, Pharoxx.

"I'm a woman of the arts, Pharoxx." Trish said casually as she stepped over the sniveling little lackey she had caught. "I can appreciate a good double cross."

Next to the sniveling man she threw down part of the bombs that had been used on the Tamu. They were well known to the legion as the modern equivalent to the ye old fashion wrecking ball. Pharoxx hadn't changed his plans at all. In fact he had moved them up.

"Your associate told me everything." Trish said calmly. "Burn down the forest and make it look like the outsiders did it all the while you make all the profitable deals you want for your little arms race." Her tone changed to admiration. She was honestly impressed by this man who had taken them for a ride. "You are a born politician." She complemented. By this time Trish had put herself between her "friends" and the royal guards.

"Don't worry," Trish purred. "I was very thorough with my investigation. The rest of the real evidence is in safe hands." Trish was clearly just enjoying her gloat moment. Outside the castle shouts could be heard. The whole city knew it was Pharoxx who had put them all in danger. The Tamu would be forgotten, that was something Trish couldn't prevent, but with this it would hopefully take Pharoxx years to restore his reputation. Soon all the good people in the room will know about his crimes too.

"No…" Pharoxx backed away stunned. He had been beaten by a child? "That's impossible."

"Listen up, Pharoxx." Lightning Lad pointed at him with the full force of his own anger. "We won't do anything today, but we will have our eyes on you. The Legion will be watching."

"Well said chief." Trish said quietly.

-Back on the ship—

"Damn!" Lightning Lad slammed his fists against the controls. "A failed mission."

Now that they had done all they could on Orando all that was left was to return to base. Trish was more than happy too. She ached all over.

"You think?" Trish asked as she examined her finger nails. "We were sent to rescue the ambassador, nothing else."

"I don't feel good about just leaving things as they are." Saturn Girl confessed. "It feels like genocide."

"Oh, I wouldn't say so." Trish held up a fist sized object that looked very much like a seed. The others stared at her stunned.

"Is that-?" Saturn Girl started to say.

"No freaking way." Lighning Lad couldn't help, but crack a smile.

"She _is_ good." Timber Wolf nodded with a hint of admiration.  
"I don't think my pals the Ramiki would mind a few new neighbors," Trish tossed up the seed and caught it like a ball playfully. "But what do you say we find another really good planet where this little guy can grow and grow undisturbed for a looong time?"

"How did you convince the Tamu to give you her last seed?" Saturn Girl asked.

"It's a lot easier than you might think." Trish replied. "I saw it on a TV show once."

Everyone laughed.

"I was being totally serious." Trish muttered as she handed the seed over to Timber Wolf for safe keeping.

She leaned back in her chair and drifted off to sleep. It would probably be a few months before Brainiac 5 trusted her on another mission. She hoped by then he would have found a way to send her home because in her own opinion she had really botched this one getting banged up like she did. Sure, she had been useful enough on this trip, but what about the next one? Would her outdated knowledge help them in the future? The question of her even _being_hero material kept haunting the back of Trish's mind and was slashing holes in her confidence.

As she slept Trish dreamed of the broken message she had heard while in the clutches of the Tamu. It had given her enough of a boost so that she wouldn't die, but the contents haunted her.

_Humans know your place… Earth must be protected… Humans know your place…_

As she dreamed the message became clearer. Pieces were still missing, but Trish was almost positive that it was this message from the artifact that had convinced the Tamu to let her live:

"_I am the shield of Aegis. By the order of the Soul Spectrum Earth must be protected. Humans know your place._"

The last part of the message was broken and scrambled with only the last two words clear enough to be understood.

In her sleep Trish muttered, "…_fear itself_."


End file.
